Writing Again.

So amidst the revelry that is December and the depression that is January, I somehow found a new writing voice. It is nice to be writing again, to be creating something other than folded laundry and mopped floors.

February is looking to be a nicer month. Maybe a little warmer, a lot greener and lots and lots of sweet oranges from the tree.

So I write a thousand words a day with my new voice and keep going. One word, sentence, paragraph at a time. Eventually I'll have a whole book. Right?

How bout you? Are you writing or cleaning or working or just living. Tell me what you're working on.

A Conversation with my Husband about Zombies.

 

 THE WALKING DEAD is freaking killing me. I was up all night thinking and dreaming about zombies. Here is an actual conversation I had last night with Dustin:

Me: "If I become a zombie, I'd want you to kill me. Cause, you know, I'm already dead."

Dustin: "So if you're going to become a zombie, kill you?"

Me: "No. Only kill me if I already am a zombie."

Dustin: "How would I know?"

Me: "Oh. You'd know."

Dustin; "Ok."

Me. "Just one shot to the brain, that's all it takes. But make sure you hit my brain."

Dustin: "Got it." Also he's distracted cause he's trying to watch the news and I'm all serious, because, you know, THE WALKING DEAD.

Me: "And make sure you teach the kids how to shoot guns."

Dustin: "Okay."

Me: "Even Jane."

Dustin looks at me like I'm crazy and also he's like, cool. Guns and kids. Me: "Promise." And I'm like practically crying cause I want our kids to learn how to shoot zombies in the eye.

Dustin: "Jeez. I promise."

Me: "I know it's like 8:15, but I'm going to bed now."

Dustin: *stares at fox news*

I lived here.

So, many years ago. Many. I lived in New Zealand for six months. Or, as I now like to call it, Middle Earth. THE HOBBIT comes out on Friday. It was my favorite book as a child. My mom read it to us many, many times.

I love it so much.

Part of me doesn't want to see the movie though. You know what I mean?

This is Hobbiton. (Matamata, NZ)

What do you think? Are you going to see the movie? Will the magic of my Hobbiton be gone?

Um. There's this.

You can check out my stats, here. Also, don't think I wrote like 10,000 words the last day. I already had some notes and alternate chapters in the document and I was too lazy to take them out, so it looks like I wrote more words than I did.

I'm not that talented.

I'll tell you all about my experience later. Right now, as reward and a day to spend selfishly on myself, I'm making a skirt for ME. Also, I'm going to read a couple of books, take a week off of writing and then dive right back in.

How did your NaNoing go?

The Girl With The Green Pen

This post has to start with a story, cause isn't everything a story? This story is about a girl with a green pen. And her name is Taryn. And she is one of my critique partners. And she's a genius teen, you know, like a character in a novel genius.

I met her a year and a half ago at a conference and we hooked up soon after that. My other CPs and I are all about the same age and in the same stage of life. But Taryn was eighteen and her MS blew all of ours out of the water. Also, it was clear during our class, this girl KNEW HER STUFF. We latched onto her immediately.

Here's an example of why she's so great (this is besides her editing skills and perfect query pitches). A few weeks ago I sent my CPs an email in my teenage voice. It was supposed to be funny, and I kept using teenage slang, mostly incorrectly. I told this entire story with an overdose of the word 'toads' to replace totally (as in: "He's toads hot.") Only I used it a ton, because I thought it was soooo funny. And my CPs thought it was funny and they started tweeting 'toads' in, like, ALL their tweets. And we were all so smug and funny and TEENAGERY.

And Taryn must've been in class, cause that's what she does, and when she finally got out, I got one really short text that read: It's totes.

I peed my pants. That is one of the reasons Taryn is great for VOICE.

But you should check out her new Editing business, you can find it here. You should read the testimonials because most of her clients now have agents. She's just that good.

Also, did I mention that she's brilliant?

Here's her mission statement:
My mission is to guide writers through the daunting task of revision. From idea development to editorial feedback to general publishing advice, I love working with stories and those who create them. As a nationally ranked swimer, I know the value of time, so I believe in quick responses from the first email to the last.

I am not just another freelance editor. Beyond providing an experienced and thorough critique, my secondary goal is to establish a relationship with my clients. I want to support you throughout the stressful submission process and celebrate with you upon any and all good news. Writers may put pen to paper alone, but it is through a community that the book gets finished, polished, and submitted.

See how I did that? How I made it all green cause she's the girl with the green pen? I'm practically like an eleven-year-old the way I can work around the interwebz.

The Middle.

I've past the middle part. And, as Anne Shirley would say, I am in the depths of despair! The middle does that to you every time. It's like I've buried my adorable, capable, and funny characters into a pit so deep, I'm not sure that--even with a little C-4--they'll be able to dig themselves out.

I'm going to be honest with you, I have considered chucking the whole thing. But then I remember that with each word I write I'm learning something about this book, its characters and its plot. And I might not learn it until I write it all. So I'm going to soldier on.

I spent the morning taking notes on what's working and what doesn't work and drew a timeline map, which I think will help a lot. Just a note, I did have an outline jumping into this but am realizing that I am a true pantster and like any pantster, pre-determined plots and outlines don't work for me cause I stray. Or, rather, my characters tend to stray. (Bad characters!)

Also, time travel is a bitch.

How are you all doing? I hope better than me.

This post was brought to you by salty tears and diet coke.

NaNo Update.

So, it has been almost a week since November began. After a slow start (I was vacationing with my kids) I've caught up to where I need to be. I'm at 13,000 words, which is a little bit ahead.

 As I suspected, pantster that I am, my plot has changed....but only for the best.

I am in good spirits today. Happy the election is over, happy to be home and working, happy it is the last beautiful day of the season, happy that my kids are in school, happy that I'm making homemade pizza tonight. So many happies!

I hope you can all read BEFORE EARTH someday, cause I'm having a fun time writing it!

How are you all doing on NaNo?

Bonus: My family and our Halloween Costumes.

Also, we had a lot of people ask us what muggles were. Really?